Cruising, Quilting,

I will be teaching on this cruise April 2021 and I will design a new quilt especially for this trip

 

and you can go to the website listed below for more information.

                                                            Www.quiltretreatatsea.com

         Although the project is still in its early design stage, my style seems to be
        traditional quilts with a modern twist to form new and exciting quilts.
        I love color and so it only makes sense to feature the vibrant colors of Mexico.
    The project will include piecing  and my own creation of  “Switch-up”
     that makes one block into 4 separate blocks.
                                     
                                              This is a sneak peek of the inspiration colors.

         

                                       “I make all the mistakes-so YOU won’t have to”

                            Browse the blog to view quilts in the past entries of the blog

It's time to think about Christmas Decor

A Christmas Class this fall Everyone is talking about Christmas in July,  so I have made 'Oh, Stripmas Tree',  a design/pattern by J. Michelle Watts. (Ready for quilting, thus all the pins) It will only require 2 jelly rolls, one of a white collection, and one of greens, plus a fat quarter of brown fabrics.  You can make it, as I did, with all those left-over scraps you might have in your closet. So, I decided to add it to my GVR teaching schedule in the fall.  Those who live in Green Valley are aware of GVR, those that aren't in Green Valley, can check the www.gvrec.org website in late August for the fall catalog that they will publish. I have decided to quilt it in a fun way and I am stitching in a snowflake into the middle of each of the quilt motifs.  Maybe I will add some embroidered embellishment-ornaments; not sure yet as I have only just started the quilting process.  But I am attaching an unfinished photo just to give you an idea of how cute this pattern is- easy too...all straight stitching. Consider joining me- those who do not live in or near Green Valley/Tucson, AZ can always send me an invite to speak and teach at your club/guild or other venues. jacquelyn@thestitchinrn.com Be sure to check the website and let me know what you think. I will be gone in August- and will post another email once I am able too. I am going to be at the Birmingham England- International Quilt Festival, as I escort 20 quilters thru England/Scotland with my daughter Michelle. This is going to be great fun!.

Summer 2018 I will be teaching in Grand Rapids MI at Quilt Week

Lots of good classes to look forward too at AQS Grand Rapids, MI this August 22-25. I will be teaching and look forward to meeting you and other new friends.  

August 22- Day Class- Tangled UP: Zentangle Goes to the Sewing Machine

         Evening- The All-Star Review: My topic is "Straight, Curves, Rounds and Dots".

August 23- Day class: Bargello simplified

August 24- Morning: Zen Applique Placemat: Learn Zentangle Concepts

                  Afternoon Lecture: An Introduction to the Zentangle Method


August 25- Morning: Zentangle Jewelry Set: Creating Wearable Art

You can register for classes soon at Quiltweek.com/Grand Rapids

P.S. I am looking for a Quilt Angel for each of my classes. Let me know if you are interested.

I call it Woven

The Pink one has been stolen.  Very Sad : (

I have recently found the nicest and very easy Table Runner pattern, by Ursula Riegel. I call it: Woven Table-Runner, because it appears as if it is woven fabrics.  Ursula has given me permission to use her pattern to teach to those who sew.  Here is a photo of the Table-Runners I have made. 

I am also now doing one with the U of A fabrics, and another will be made with Dallas Cowboys fabrics; but, I cannot forget his truly favorites "New England -any of the sports" Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox.
I figure when Bill is watching one of his favorite teams I will put that team on the coffee table.

Announcing - New Zentangle Art Classes

Zentangles in Grand Rapids MI

Good Morning to all,

It is fast approaching, and I am looking forward to the American Quilters Society show in Grand Rapids, MI. 
I will be teaching 2 Zentangle classes, one will be an introduction to the Zentangle Method, the other is a Beyond the Basics class and we will be working with different mediums.  Should be a fun and productive class for all the participants. 
Introducing 3-Z tiles and Paired with Bijou tiles.  Some on white, some on black. 

I am an Instructor

August will bring a new adventure for me.  I have been asked to teach at American Quilters Society (AQS) in Grand Rapids, MI.  I will teach two Zentangle Classes.  Very Excited to share the Zentangle Method with Quilters, Artist, and those who don't call themselves "Artist" will find that with just "One Stroke at a Time" with a pencil and pen, magic happens.

Staggered Bargello 

I am taking the Sulky Certified Teacher course online.  I started in May and it ends the end of July. The bargello technique here is called Staggered, design by Carol Ingram National Instructor for Sulky.  I had so much fun doing the wallhanging and today I finished the project with this cool silhouette. I had to go on Amazon and order the laser cut fusible applique as the one the instructor wanted us to use was no longer available from the manufacturer, so I thought this one was good and fits the grassy into water and sky theme.

So then while I was waiting to get the silhouette applique I had ordered I decided that I loved the poinsettia fabric I bought a couple of years ago and made a tablerunner.   Here is the result. 

Wow, catching up on the NFYBS projects

NFYBS - Not Finished Yet But Someday- are projects that are sitting in the overfilled closet space in my sewing area....  It is much easier to view them because of the beautiful space made use-able by my friend Carl Mensch.

He was able to put shelving into the closet that fits the fabrics and tools of the trade(s).  Without organization I used to spend my day/nights just searching .....  "I know I have it in here" comment was a daily mantra.  Sound familiar to any of you?

The sewing supplies and fabrics are now in order, fabric is folded and my Zentangle supplies are in a drawers all by themselves.
It is sew nice to have things organized.

There is only one problem,  there is still a bed in my sewing area, and it tends to GET loaded up with excess fabric, patterns, ideas and I am continually having to remove the 'stuff'!

Zentangle(R) Inspired Art

I wanted to play with the fabric and make a Zentantgle(R) Inspired Art place-mat.... 

Finished edges with the 9mm Satin Stitch- it did require 2 go arounds of stitching, but lovely coverage.

Finishing edges with satin stitch

Ever spent a long time closing the edges of a quilted project with the satin stitch?  Well I found a good way to help that become an easier way, it also looks better.  
Well, it's pretty simple so give it a try.
Once your project is ready for a 'binding' which will close off the raw edges and pretty up the piece, get out some clear  Sulky 'heat-away' stabilizer.  Cut about a 2.5" wide piece to cover all the areas.  I measured my project and had two sides 12" and 2 sides 8", irregular shapes- so my strips were cut 12x2.5" and 8x2.5".  I used a touch of basting spray to one side of the stabilizer, and applied it to the underside of the project, with about an inch hanging off the edge.
Pick the stitch you want to use and go around the piece.  What I found was that the stabilizer gave the needle a place to land and it held much better than when it has nothing to go into on the outside edge. I did go around the project twice and had nice coverage.
Follow the instructions for removing the stabilizer.

Give it a try and let me know how that works for you.
Happy Stitchin'

Ft. Lauderdale

April 15, 2016

Landed in Ft. Lauderdale to a very strong rain storm, mixed with lightening and thunder.  Tomorrow Michelle and I will be boarding The Navigator of the Seas- a Royal Caribbean Ship-
and greet our newest group of cruising quilters.
I love the Caribbean Sea,, it is the most beautiful sapphire blue you have ever seen. On this trip we will have an excursion on the West Indes Island of St. Kitts.  A great Batik shop is on that island, it is also the Batik factory- of which our quilters have the opportunity of going behind the scenes. Each student is able and encouraged to try their hand in performing the traditional method of adding wax in areas that they don''t want color, making a design and then dying the cloth. They will go away from Caribelle Batiks with a piece of their own making. Each time I take the group there, they all tell me it was the favorite of the whole trip.

A scrappy tablerunner

For Christmas table....  I want to make this table runner in some very shiny fabrics- but I didn't want to practice the 'how-to' on the fabrics, so I made it out of my stash fabrics, and now after I bind it, I can use it at Christmas.

The hearts and the 4 leaf hearts are done as in a trapunto technique. All but the putting of parts together were done in the embroidery hoop on my Bernina 830. (I love that machine when it behaves so nicely).
I will be teaching this method in November.
Design by Eileen Roche.

For Adam and Marisa

Finally a quilt for my youngest son and his bride (of three+ years).  Well you know how it is, we get too busy.
Summer of 2012 I was in Washington for a Quilt Retreat at Sea cruise to the Inside Passage of Alaska.  I went a couple of days early to see the family and stayed with Marisa, Adam and Leona (granddaughter). Marisa and I went to the local quilt shop, she showed me fabric she liked and then she said, I can show you what Adam would like too.  She did, and she was right, when I went back to the shop with Adam later that day, he chose the absolute same fabric she mentioned he would like. So I bought a few yards of each of their choices.  Now let me tell you that the two choices were very opposite, Marisa chose a panel, Adam chose a large flower pattern.
They saw a French Braid quilt hanging at the shop and said that was the design they wanted me to use. 
A few months later, my sister and I went to the quilt shop where I was working and we chose 13 fabrics to put in the quilt, along with the fabric Adam had chosen.
I asked my friend and quilt mentor Jean to teach me the technique. Cutting it was the biggest deal, as it has to be very organized in cutting.
After putting one of the strips together, I realized that the two fabrics I had used from Adam's selection just wasn't working, so took it apart and went shopping again. I found that by just adding 2 of the fabrics purchase when shopping with my sister worked best.
Final result is this..... my camera doesn't always take great photos, but here it is

This next photo is a show of the large flower fabric that Adam originally chose.  I love this colorway and plan to make another French Braid design with it.

Metallic Thread Tip

I recently heard of a great way to help stop the breakage issues of using metallic threads. I believe it was from the Anita Goodesign newsletter. So here is the tip of the week.

TRICK- When you are going to sew with metallic threads make sure to:
       1.  Use a metallic needle.  They have a longer eye opening and are usually coated with teflon to reduce heat friction.
       2.  Use a new needle with each project. 
       3.  Put the metallic thread on your thread holder (not attached to your machine)

    

       4.  Now move the thread holder 3-4 feet away from the sewing machine. In this way the metallic thread will have more time to unwind and relax. Thus many of the usual knotting that takes place will not occur.
    
TIP-  Now if your embroidery thread is old and dry then it may have breakage just for that reason. So keep your threads in a cool area away from the sun (like away from the window).
I keep mine in a specially designed thread organizer, not just thrown in a pile, but standing up. Take good care of your supplies- they aren't cheap.
Should you continue to have breakage, clean your machine with your small brush, give it a drop of water in the bobbin area (if your machine requires you to add oil), check the bobbin area for loose bits of thread that could get caught on the hook system.

And now there are 3

I love to teach and share embroidery with others. I recently completed teaching a 3 month class at The Quilter's Market Shop in Tucson, AZ.  These three women were participants. This quilt is entitled 'Lady Liberty' and is a design of Eileen Roche.  This is an applique embroidered wall hanging. Every 2 weeks for 5 sessions we would meet and learn another portion of the quilt.  Between classes the students went home and worked on the project. The final result is spectacular, don't you agree?  If you would like to learn to use your sewing and embroidery machine, let me know, we can work something out.

Red Memory Quilt

I love to do Memory Quillts.  They offer the recipient many fond remembrances of times past.  This particular quilt is a commission from a Father.  He wanted to have a memory quilt done with the clothing of his Granddaughter, she is now 7 yrs old. He asked for 2 quilts- one for his Daughter and the other for the Granddaughter. I received two boxes of clothing to work from. Process began with  hours of cutting clothing into usable sizes, fusing interfacing to the back of each cut piece, then cutting the appropriate shapes for this quilt, and finally sewing all the pieces together have produced this top.  Next I will quilt the three layers together, bind it, apply a label with the stroy of the quilt and send it off to them.
I have a second one to make for him and I have done the first three steps, this weekend I will sew many of the pieces that make up each block. When the second one is completed I will share the photo on this blog.
It is awesome to be doing and sharing what I love.

My Favorite Things wins in Washington show

This is a beautiful wall hanging quilt. I entered it in the Association of Pacific West Quilters show that took place August 2013. When I got word that it had been accepted into the special event of embroidered quilts, I couldn't wait to see it hanging there in Tacoma, WA.  So I bought an airline ticket, made arrangements to stay at Adam and Marisa's place for the long weekend. I received a notification by a friend on Facebook the night before I left for WA that my quilt received a 3rd place prize. It was a wonderful experience, and I would encourage any and all of you to enter your creations in shows.

My First Quilt made me a better quilter...

Family Fundays Memory Quilt^©

A quilt-as-you go wall-hanging

42”x54”

By Jacquelyn Morris-Smith

August 2013

I wanted to have a family photo wall in the entry of my new home in 2006, but I didn’t want to hammer nails in the wall for each frame. Knowing that as the sizes of the pictures may change regularly I would be constantly filling holes and making new ones I had to come up with a different plan. I was not at the time a quilter, but I have sewn all my life, so when I saw a sign in my town for a quilt shop I got the brilliant idea to make a Family Wall Quilt, now renamed to Family Fundays Memory Quilt^©. I called that shop and inquired how one could go about making such a thing, and they recommended a quilt instructor- Jean Hoagland. She assisted me in understanding what I really could do to make this happen.  I started by buying fabric (more than I really needed).  I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t have to cut all the fabric into strips…but that I could have saved some fabric for other projects and only used what I needed.

My first version was so unorganized and the blocks were not equal or straight.

Here is a photo of that first quilt 

Although my friends and family (who don’t quilt) love this Family Wall Quilt, I can see the imperfections and realize that I have really gotten better over the years.  It is always good to have a first quilt reminder. What was your first quilt?

I will be posting later the new version, and I am designing a pattern for  Family Fundays Memory Quilt^©

^{Thanks for reading and let me hear from you.}

^Jacquelyn